Disability Arts Online is delighted to announce that it will be launching a brand-new website on 7 June, as part of its Grants for the Arts project, Viewfinder. The website will feature both new functionality and design, including a much-needed rebrand.

From the 21-25 June, Intoart will present a pop-up exhibition in Fitzrovia, central London, to fundraise for their ongoing studio programme that provides much-needed access to art education and exhibition opportunities for learning-disabled and autistic artists.

Following on from the success of last year’s sold-out event which saw 105 young people perform to an audience of 400 at the Liverpool Everyman, Young DaDaFest has now expanded to feature a music-focused event in the Music Room at the Liverpool Philharmonic, a performance event at the Liverpool Everyman Theatre and a fringe event “SandFest” at Liverpool John Moore’s University.

The European cultural project Un-Label launches in Cologne. From May 2015 through April 2017 seminars, both artistic and inclusive workshops and a multidisciplinary dance-theatre production is going to be developed with and for a diverse range of disabled people.

After drawing attention to the quality and diversity of disability music making in 2015, Colston Hall’s Fast Forward is back on Friday 3rd June, this time with a contemporary twist featuring cutting edge music and circus performances from The British Paraorchestra and Extraordinary Bodies.

HOUSE and Outside In have announced Home Away From Home, a newly commissioned set of paintings by artist Thompson Hall, to be shown at the Regency Town House. The exhibition, part of HOUSE – Brighton’s visual arts festival – will be open from 30 April -29 May 2016.

The exam board AQA’s new specification for GCSE Dance, which was accredited last week, includes a focus on promoting excellence in dance to disabled and non-disabled young people. AQA signalled its intension by selecting Artificial Things by Stopgap Dance Company as one of six compulsory works to be studied by GCSE students.

Young disabled conductor/composer, James Rose who conducts using a head-baton developed in partnership with Drake Music, has been awarded Arts Council Funding to do a Conducting Development Week at The Royal Academy of Music this Spring The project will be documented and edited into a short film scheduled for release on YouTube in August this year.

See Hear, the TV programme focussing on the Deaf community received special recognition at the Royal Television Society West of England Awards which took place at the Bristol Old Vic on Sunday 6th March.

Disability Arts Online (DAO) is pleased to announce its latest Viewfinder commission, a collaboration with the SPILL Festival of Performance (SPILL) which will encompass a curated collection of SPILL’s video archive, a new video work and written reflections on the process.

Last year Disability Arts Cymru (DAC) launched its first Annual Poetry Competition. Each of the poems was written in response to a piece of artwork from DAC's Annual Touring Exhibition 2015. The winning poems are accompanied by the artworks that inspired them in an e-book, which is now being made freely available to the public.

Unlimited, the commissioning programme that supports disabled artists develop ambitious and high quality work, today announced an Ambitions of Excellence Award of £759,949 from Arts Council England to build a three-year international programme. The award is also match-funded by the British Council.

SICK! Lab is a collaborative exploration of identity and trauma that will take place in Manchester 9 – 12 March 2016. The four-day programme will include performances, presentations and discussions bringing together artists and experts from many fields.

In February Southbank Centre launches a new weekend festival for 2016, Changing Minds, looking closely at the topic of mental health through a packed programme of performance, music, comedy, design, talks and panel discussions. As the debate surrounding equal treatment for mental health grows in profile, the festival probes taboo subjects and explores the role of the arts in understanding and healing.

Castlefield Gallery has announced Inside Out, curated in collaboration with David Maclagan artist, academic and writer; including new and existing work by artists from the UK, South Africa, France, Iran and the USA. Some of these artists for a variety of reasons are thought to be Outsider artists, whilst others may be seen to share methods of approaching their subject matter with this now established part of artistic study.

Mainstream arts organisations have “a mountain to climb” to ensure they have an acceptable proportion of disabled directors, artists and staff, according to leading disability arts figures. Disability News Service's John Pring reports from Arts Council England's conference in Birmingham on 7 December.

The Opulent Mobility project is a groundbreaking collaborative effort to re-imagine mobility, disability and access. Wheelchairs, walkers, prosthetics, crutches and other assistive technology devices are part of our lives, but they’ve been left in the dust when it comes to custom design innovation and personalization. There are hundreds of thousands of designs for glasses, chairs and technology of other kinds. Why not assistive technology?

On Monday 7th December 2015 Sir Peter Bazalgette, Chair of Arts Council England delivered a speech that followed up on the one he made a year ago outlining the Arts Council’s commitment to the Creative Case for Diversity at a special event held in Birmingham.

Bristol’s Colston Hall has been shortlisted as a finalist for a South West Tourism Award in the Access and Inclusivity category and will now go on to compete in the national Visit England Awards on behalf of the South West.

Disability Arts Online (DAO) is delighted to announce that filmmakers/curators Lisa Mattocks and Sandra Alland have been selected to work with SICK! Festival as part of a Viewfinder commission to explore the artistic practice of artists engaged with the festival.

The Oska Bright Film Festival will host a wide range of screenings and talks including music videos, comedy shorts, animations, drama and documentary films. Running from 9-11 November at the Brighton Corn Exchange the festival is run by a team of learning-disabled film-makers keen to promote the work of learning disabled people, behind and in front of the camera.

In partnership with Battersea Arts Centre and Arts Council England, the BBC is bringing live theatre back to Television Centre for Live from Television Centre. Jessica Thom aka Touretteshero will be performing a special rendition, Broadcast from Biscuit Land alongside four other 'genre-busting' theatre pieces live on BBC Four.

A major exhibition Art, Life, Activism which brings together acclaimed artists who make artwork informed by the politics of disability featuring sculpture, performance, film, drawing, and photography will be the inaugural show of University of Leicester's new gallery at the Attenborough Arts Centre, running from 18 November to 17 January 2016.

The wavelength project is an ongoing exploration into the effects of artificial and natural sound and light on the brain with wide implications across arts and science. Produced and led by artist Mark Ware in partnership with the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science and Kent Wildlife Trust the ongoing project aims to deliver a number of Arts Council England supported artistic outcomes.

From 2- 4 October 2015, the BBC See Hear Weekend 2015 will celebrate all things in film and television related to sign language and the deaf community, led by BBC Bristol’s flagship programme See Hear. Join 'Doctor Who', 'Aardmann Animations' and Award-winning filmmaker, Bim Ajadi for a weekend of screenings and workshops at Watershed on Bristol’s Harbourside.

In January, the Baluji Music Foundation (BMF) will be undertaking a research and development project in India. Baluji Shrivastav who is Musical Director of the Foundation, will be searching for and making music with blind musicians from Bangalore, Chennai, Andaman Islands, Assam and other regions of India, representing different, and rarely heard, folk music traditions.

Since November 2013 Simon Mckeown has been working with lead partners National Sculpture Factory and Create Ireland to develop ‘Cork Ignite’, which is premiering in Cork City centre on 18 September. As part of the process he has been working with partner disability organisations in Cork, such as Suisha Inclusive Arts at COPE Foundation and SoundOUT as well as individual members of the disabled community.

Bradford based actor Liam Bairstow, 28, has landed a role in the world’s longest running soap opera Coronation Street. Liam, who works with England’s largest learning-disabled theatre company Mind the Gap will be appearing in the ITV soap in the role of Cathy Matthew’s nephew, Alex Warner from September.

On 29 August 2012, the world watched as Deaf and disabled people quite literally took centre stage in the spectacular and potentially game-changing Opening Ceremony for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. We couldn't have been prouder of what our Artistic Director Jenny Sealey and her co-director Bradley Hemmings achieved, and the cast of Reasons to be Cheerful performing Spasticus Autisticus to a worldwide audience of 2 billion people was an incredible statement.

Euan’s Guide, the disabled access review charity, held an award ceremony on 21 August to acknowledge a show and a venue for their outstanding efforts to include disabled audiences at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Lynn Manning athlete, poet, actor, playwright and founder of the Watts Village Theater Company, died last Monday aged 60, after a year-long fight against liver cancer. In 2005 Extant Theatre brought Manning to the UK and toured his one-man autobiographical play Weights, which told his story of being shot and blinded by a stranger in a bar. Extant CEO Maria Oshodi has kindly allowed Dao to reproduce her tribute to a man she remembers as a warrior, brother and friend

Poet and artist Vince Laws has created 'We All Bleed Red' for the church of St Peter & St Paul, in Oulton, Norfolk. He has previously received poetry commissions for LGBT History Month; has supported Kate Tempest as a performer, and is the creative drive behind some of Norwich's most happening happenings.

Disability Arts Online are today announcing the launch of Viewfinder, an 18-month commissioning, digital media and sector development programme funded by Arts Council England’s Grants for the Arts, to be run in partnership with Wikimedia UK, Sick! Festival, SPILL Festival, Carousel, the New Wolsey Theatre, Culture 24 and Goldsmiths Disability Research Centre.

The Shape Arts Adam Reynolds Memorial Bursary (ARMB), set up in memory of sculptor Adam Reynolds to support mid-career disabled artists, is open for submissions until 27 July. This year’s successful recipient will be awarded £5,000 and a three-month residency at The New Art Gallery Walsall in January 2016.

NDACA are pleased to announce the success of their Round 2 bid to Heritage Lottery Fund. With the total funding of nearly £1M, including support from Arts Council England and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Colin Hambrook interviews NDACA Project Director David Hevey about the hopes and ambitions for the NDACA Project, in its exciting next phase of building the dream in 2015-2018

Colston Hall will play a leading role on the first ever BBC Music Day on Friday 5th June 2015 in championing disability and diversity in music and the arts. BBC Music Day will see the Hall welcoming a unique disability youth concert. The day will be a nationwide celebration of music with the aim of connecting communities and generations.

Led by New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich, ‘Ramps on the Moon’ will bring together a collaborative network of seven National portfolio organisation theatres including New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich and strategic partner Graeae Theatre - Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Nottingham Playhouse, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Sheffield Theatres.

Brighton-based charity Creative Future has launched its second national competition, The Creative Future Literary Awards; championed by top poet and playwright Lemn Sissay and bestselling author Maggie Gee, to discover the best writers from disadvantaged groups.

Following over 150 million views of her signature underwater wheelchair performance and powerful TED talk, internationally acclaimed artist Sue Austin curates new work, inviting you to become ‘Immersed in 360’ at the innovative Salisbury Arts Centre this Spring.

Stay Up Late is a charity promoting full and active social lives for people with learning disabilities. They are delighted to announce that they’ve been successful in receiving funding from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation to develop the work they started with the launch of the Stay Up Late campaign back in 2006.

In the week the country celebrates National British Sign Language Day, British Deaf-led theatre company Deafinitely Theatre will open their new children’s production based on the book written by Kathryn Cave and illustrated by Chris Riddell.

Acclaimed artist Tanya Raabe-Webber has been awarded a Grants for The Arts, supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, to be an artist in residence with visual arts organisation Project Ability, Glasgow as part of their International Summit for learning disability artists and their supported studios, 23 Feb - 25 March 2015.

Spirit of 2012 (Spirit) has launched the Challenge Fund to empower and enable disabled people’s participation in arts and culture. The Open Grant round is looking for project applications across the UK, which create participatory opportunities for disabled people of all backgrounds, individually and with their families and friends.

UNLIMITED, the £3million programme delivered by Shape and Artsadmin, has concluded its first year supporting outstanding work by disabled artists, making an unprecedented impact on the cultural sector. Here's the round up...

In a joint-funded initiative, as part of the Visit Britain access project, The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) has launched a promotional video to highlight the wealth of access initiatives available across London theatre. Watch it here...

Stopgap Dance Company and The Point announce the final programme for the iF Platform (Integrated Fringe). A ground breaking showcase featuring the best integrated arts companies from the UK as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2015.

A new initiative to support the next generation of disabled artists in Scotland is being launched by flip - disability equality in the arts - and other National Arts organisations offering 9 opportunities for disabled artists across Scotland to develop their artistic practice or career through an individualised programme of mentoring and support.

FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) has been successful in an application for £29,870 of funding from the Wellcome Trust. The money will allow FACT to realise an exciting participatory installation called Madlove by artist James Leadbitter as part of next spring’s Group Therapy exhibition.

Heart n Soul is delighted to announce that they are working with Emmy award-winning ‘Sherlock’ composer Michael Price to co-produce ‘Allsorts: The Listening Season’, our creative arts project for adults with learning disabilities.

This year’s UK Disability History Month (UKDHM) will examine the appalling treatment of veterans who became disabled after fighting in the First World War. UKDHM was set up to celebrate disabled people’s lives and explore the history of negative attitudes and their consequences, and runs from 22 November to 22 December every year.

Unlimited, the initiative which supports disabled artists to create and present exceptional work across the artforms, announces the opening of the second round of submissions for commission funds. Disabled artists and companies who are creating new disability-led work are invited to apply.

Parliament in the Making is a year-long programme of UK-wide events and activities which will commemorate significant historic anniversaries that underpinned the establishment of Parliamentary democracy and the legal system in the UK and around the world.

In the wake of the scandal of Lord Freud's comments about wages for disabled workers Graeae Theatre Company have issued a statement on the realities of the impact of the changes in Access to Work and other disability-related employment policies on the work of the company.

Following a busy summer Together! are delighted to announce the programme for the Together! 2014 Disability History Month Festival. Highlights include the festival launch and private view of the Open Exhibition; Krip Hop Nation's workshop and performance; The Hands Project on International Day of Disabled People; the Together! Disability Film Festival and the launch of a poetry anthology and end-of-festival party.

The iF Platform (Integrated Fringe) is a unique opportunity for companies and artists producing work with disabled and non disabled artists. It will showcase the best integrated work from the UK at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 23rd – 30th August 2015 to coincide with the British Council Showcase year.

The winner of the 2014 Adam Reynolds Memorial Bursary, which will be hosted by the Victoria and Albert Museum with support from The Helen Hamlyn Centre of Design at the Royal College of Arts, is multidisciplinary artist Carmen Papalia.

This Autumn, Taking Flight Theatre Company will tour a specially commissioned play, Real Human Being, to secondary schools across Wales, to educate young people about the impact of Disability Hate Crime (DHC) on the lives of disabled people. The project is funded by the Welsh Government under the Equality and Inclusion grant.

What happens when a British comedian and an Australian Actress meet, fall in love, get married and combine their skills and sharp wit? Find out at this funny and bold stand-up show that smashes conventions in every way. Presented as part of a tour to develop disability arts.

Conceived by DaDaFest, curated by Aaron Williamson and delivered in partnership with the Bluecoat, Liverpool. The exhibition runs from 8 November 2014 to 11 January 2015 as part of DaDaFest International 2014.

A wildly comic twist on the stereotype of a queer, disabled, intellectual trouble-maker, featuring an international cast of disabled actresses including Liz Carr (Silent Witness) and Julie McNamara (Let Me Stay). This no-holds barred musical about what it means to be the quintessential Ugly Girl adrift in a comically hostile universe is full of slapstick, music and dark humour. Presented as part of a tour to develop disability arts.

Flight Paths, Extant's ground-breaking collaboration with Upswing and Yellow Earth Theatre exploring aerial movement, music, narrative and live description, will begin its next phase of development in November 2014.

With two million British servicemen disabled by World War One, society's attitude to disability had to change. Co-produced by Artsadmin and Xenoki and co-commissioned by Channel 4 and 14-18 NOW, WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, five disabled artists present unorthodox takes on the legacies of war and disability through a series of short films.

Today Arts Council England announced details of its investment plans for the next three years including its new national portfolio of arts organisations and museums representing a major public investment in England’s arts and culture.

Unlimited today opened submissions for its ‘Your Slogan Here’ competition, offering young disabled people under 26 living in England and Scotland the opportunity to design a slogan and/or image for a T-shirt that will be exhibited at the Southbank Centre during Southbank Centre’s Unlimited Festival in September 2014.

DaDaFest is proud to announce its Twelfth Festival, Art of the Lived Experiment, taking place 8 November 2014 – 11 January 2015. DaDaFest International 2014 presents a breathtaking array of high quality disability and Deaf arts from around the world, which will challenge thinking, ignite debate and celebrate disability culture - with comedy, music, dance, and visual arts - providing excellent entertainment for everyone.

International musician and composer Jez Colborne has been commissioned by PRS for Music Foundation’s New Music Biennial to create an original music piece – Gift, which is set to immerse audiences in a wave of new sounds.

Attitude is Everything is very pleased to announce that Latitude Festival(17th- 20th July) has been awarded the Silver level of the Charter of Best Practice. The Silver award is in recognition of the ongoing efforts of Festival Republic, the festival organisers, to build upon event access and inclusion at the site on a yearly basis, which has resulted in a loyal Deaf and disabled customer base.

Attitude is Everything improves Deaf and disabled people's access to live music by working in partnership with audiences, artists and the music industry. The organisation is delighted to announce the appointment of a new Patron.

Unlimited today announced an award of £500,000 from the Spirit of 2012 Trust (Spirit) – enabling the programme to build on the legacy at the heart of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, which celebrated the work of disabled artists on an unprecedented scale.

Liverpool based Arts Company Fittings Multimedia Arts have received very welcome news this week as their application for funding to support a two-year project working with young people across the North and Midlands has been approved by Arts Council England.

UNLIMITED today announced over £400,000 of funding to support 26 disabled artists across the UK to create ambitious work covering all genres. Funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England (ACE) and Creative Scotland (CS) & led by Shape and ArtsAdmin, the 2014 round of the programme aims to build on the successful legacy that was at the heart of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, which celebrated the work of disabled artists on an unprecedented scale.

Bad Elvis - a sign-dance-theatre musical premieres on Friday 21st March at Salford University, MediaCity, and is being filmed by students; the film will then be shown live at the BBC Festival of Characters on the big screen at MediaCity on Saturday 29th March.

Shape are incredibly excited to announce that they will be taking part in Bonhams' first contemporary art auction of the year in order to raise money to continue developing opportunities for disabled artists.

In 2004 Neil Harbisson and Adam Montandon developed The Eyeborg - an electronic ‘eye’ that allows colours to be perceived as sounds. The Eyeborg is a small sensor placed at eye level, held in place with a cable that transports colour information to a computer or chip. The electromagnetic light waves are turned into sound frequencies that are heard as musical notes. In partnership with Vodafone, Harbisson has now recorded the colours of Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica using mobile technology to compose a unique score.

In 2004 Neil Harbisson and Adam Montandon developed The Eyeborg - an electronic ‘eye’ that allows colours to be perceived as sounds. The Eyeborg is a small sensor placed at eye level, held in place with a cable that transports colour information to a computer or chip. The electromagnetic light waves are turned into sound frequencies that are heard as musical notes. In partnership with Vodafone, Harbisson has now recorded the colours of Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica using mobile technology to compose a unique score.

‘Unlimited’, the three year UK commissioning programme supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England which supports disabled artists in developing and showcasing ambitious and high quality work across the UK and internationally, has announced the recruitment of a selection panel with over 75% of quality candidates elected being disabled people.

Inspired by the Monty Python's 'Four Yorkshiremen' sketch Writer/ director Charlie Swinbourne's sign language version for a deaf cast, became a Youtube hit in 2007. The cast of 'grumpy deafies' are now preparing for a day out in Blackpool for their third get together.

Rita Ferris-Taylor and Tam Reid remember Alexander Cooper Black (Sandy or Sulieman) Easton who sadly died on 25th January 2014. Dao remembers him as a valued member of the disability arts community and would like to offer condolences to his family and wife Kirin.

Shape and ArtsAdmin are spearheading 'Unlimited' - a three year commissioning programme, supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England to support disabled artists in developing ambitious and high quality work - with a celebration launch today at the Tate Modern.

Lynn Weddle has recently been awarded an Arts Council Grants for the Arts to work collaboratively with Sound Artist Anya Ustaszewski to create a series of living portraits depicting the environment and lives of young people across the South East. The artists are working with a range of young carers support groups to find participants for their artistic programme.

A major national museum and an innovative audio description charity are both winners of a prestigious Jodi Award, presented this year in a high profile ceremony at the Museums Association Conference, which took place in Liverpool on 11 November.

The Touch Art Fair is the first ever tactile art fair in the UK. On exhibition at 35 Marylebone High Street, London W1 from 17 - 20 October the fair is organised by pioneering french artist Scratch Adelia. Jake and Dinos Chapman have created a gigantic new piece of work especially for the event amongst fifteen other international artists working in the haptic arts.

In a pioneering move for accredited theatrical training, Access all Areas and the Central School of Speech and Drama are launching a new one-year Performance Making Diploma for adults with learning disabilities.

Yinka Shonibare, Patron to Shape, a disability-led arts organisation, announced the winner and runner up to their annual Shape Open exhibition 2013 as Eric Fong, and Katherine Araniello respectively, for their impactful moving image submissions.

Oska Bright Film Festival 2013 comes to Brighton Dome in November. Oska Bright is the world’s first and only festival of short films made by people with learning disabilities that is produced, managed and presented by a learning disabled team.

Exeter Cathedral will be the setting for a multimedia response to the building’s 900 year history and the contributions that craftspeople have made during that time. 900 Years of Light is the culmination of Cathedra 900, an Arts Council England funded project by visual and multimedia artist Mark Ware. For the last 18 months, Mark has been exploring the Cathedral and interpreting its art and architecture through photography, abstract photomontages, 3D artwork and sound.

Signdance Collective International [SDCI] are engaged in an exciting new collaboration with BBC Radio 4 that will break new ground by enabling deaf people to engage with Bad Elvis, a brand new radio play that is due to be broadcast on 27 August.

Jos Boys invites DAO readers to suggest buildings they like for a book aimed at architects, exploring how they can be more engaged and creative around disability in their design work; so that accessibility and inclusive design become integral to their design thinking and doing, rather than as just an afterthought at the end of the architectural process.

DAO has been publishing a profile of work by Grace Eyre members since summer 2012. Sheila McWattie reports on Grace Eyre members' participation in a vibrant community gardens scheme across Brighton & Hove in partnership with The Sussex Beacon, due to open to the public from 29-30 June 2013

Pallant House Gallery is delighted to announce that Outside In, its pioneering project aimed at those facing barriers to the art world, has won the Charity Awards 2013, the highest profile event in the charity calendar.

Heads Up, a series of films which have been produced as part of the Creative Case has been published today by Arts Council England through the Creative Case website which is managed by DAO. The 8 films feature a number of arts professionals and arts organisations who discuss their involvement with the Creative Case and what it means to them and are being released in two batches with the first four live now.

Ground-breaking Graeae returns to Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (GDIF) this coming June, for the fifth year with its world premiere of The Limbless Knight - A Tale of Rights Reignited, which reunites the creative team behind The Garden and Against The Tide.

Lisa Simpson is seeking funding to support disabled choreographers using new technology developed by Adam Benjamin. Lisa and her colleague, Ray Rooney, have set up a social enterprise company to help disabled dancers and their teachers unlock similar potential. Sheila McWattie reports on the initiative

Now in its 18th year, the 2013 International Family Film Festival was held (May 1st - 5th) at Raleigh Studios in the heart of Hollywood. Creative Bucks project Driving Inspiration entered an animation created last year and came first in the Youth Animation Class.

Arts Council England has announced the 62 successful applicants to the ‘Catalyst Arts: Building Fundraising Capacity’ scheme. Disability Arts Online and StopGap Dance Company are part of a consortium celebrating success.

A multimedia installation by Caglar Kimyoncu exploring the politics of compulsory military service. Produced by disabled-led digital art agency filmpro, the work will show at the Old Truman Brewery, London from 2 May.

Oska Bright – the international learning disability led film festival – is to be recognised this month at Calgary’s 'Picture This' Film festival for their innovation and work to date in the international film arena.

Plans for inclusive arts organisation The Art House to develop Drury Lane Library as a vibrant artist-hub in the centre of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, is one step closer to being realised with investment from Arts Council England.

It was announced this week that as lead partner of the Arts and Disability Consortium, Shape has received initial support for a £962,000 bid from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the National Disability Arts Collection and Archive.

This February sees the launch of a new festival that aims to celebrate Brighton's vibrant Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transexual (LGBT) culture and history, spearheaded by Norfolk poet, artist and campaigner Vince Laws.

The London based social charity Rich Mix is hosting the first ever mid-career retrospective of a living British-Bangladeshi female artist – Sanchita Islam. The exhibition, entitled ‘The Rebel Within’, runs from 6 March - 28 April 2013

Birds of Paradise are planning the appointment of a triumvirate of outstanding talents - Garry Robson and Robert Softley Gale as Artistic Directors and Shona Rattray, currently Company Manager, promoted to Creative Producer.

Created by Jonathan Hering and Jack Whiteley 'Rhapsody for Clarinet and Wheelchair Basketball Team' is a groundbreaking audio-visual work, that combines music, sound design, film and sport. Commissioned by the Bluecoat, and premiered as part of DaDaFest 2012 the film has now been launched online.

DaDaFest 2012 has drawn to a close and has been hailed a great success, with audiences from near and far coming together to enjoy this internationally renowned festival of disability and deaf arts, the largest festival of its kind in the world.

Oska Bright is the award-winning, international festival of short films made by artists with learning disabilities. Over the last decade, it has screened hundreds of films from around the world, enabling learning disabled film-makers to blaze a trail for their artform. You can now watch Oska Bright films via the on-demand channel at www.thespace.org

The Dean Rodney Singers is Heart n Soul’s most ambitious arts project to date. Autistic artist Dean Rodney is working with seventy-two band members made up of musicians, singers and dancers from seven countries across the world.

A festival celebrating the 24-hour Paralympic Torch Relay brings the South East’s best artistic talent to the streets of Aylesbury as part of a four-day UK wide event, giving local people a chance to experience the Paralympic Games in a moment of a lifetime.

Fine ceramic artist Paul Cummins has made more than 12000 individual flower heads for a series of 6 unique art installations at some of the UK’s most beautiful historic houses and socially significant public sites. The project is an Unlimited commission and is part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Opening today at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester, West Sussex, is a studio exhibition showcasing the results of ‘Look About’, a two year mapping and collecting project by Portsmouth‐based artist Jon Adams in response to the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

The UK Disabled People's Council (UKDPC) is sad to announce that the Together! 2012 free Disability Arts and Human Rights festival at London Pleasure Gardens has been cancelled due to the closure of the venue.

Survivor film maker Lou Birks has been commissioned to write and direct a Paralympic Ceremony opening film. The film will play to a packed 80,000 seater stadium and be broadcast around the world. Estimated worldwide viewing figures are 1.5 billion.

The groundbreaking performing arts company Signdance Collective are to perform its Olympic inspired outdoor performance piece: 'New Gold' and 'Half A Penny' featuring the London-based Punk/ Jazz Duo, 'Dead Days Beyond Help' as part of their European Tour for 2012

London's Southbank Centre will present an unprecedented programme of commissions by Deaf and disabled artists in an 11-day celebration between 30 August – 9 September. All 29 Cultural Olympiad Unlimited commissions will feature at Southbank Centre as part of the London 2012 Festival

Diverse City welcome Brazilian dancers to Dorset for two weeks of performances across Dorset culminating in the performance of a lifetime in the Battle for the Winds: The Ceremony of the Winds and Final Battle on 28th July.

Accentuate is delighted to announce that uScreen, led by Screen South, has reached the Semi Finals of the National Lottery Awards. uScreen offers young deaf & disabled people the opportunity to make films online using a range of free accessible film-making tools with live showcases and workshops.

Niet Normaal: Difference on Display, a major international contemporary art exhibition, comes to the Bluecoat, Liverpool this summer as part of DaDaFest 2012 and is set to include two new commissions from influential North West artists

Artist Rachel Gadsden (UK) and the Bambanani artist-activist Group (South Africa) explore the psychology and politics of HIV/AIDS and of life-giving medical regimes in an Unlimited commission, showing in Cambridge, Liverpool and London as part of the London 2012 Festival.

Many of you will have followed the development of the National Disability Arts Collection and Archive (NDACA) and now DAO is asking for your help in supporting and assuring the future of this unique resource

The Unity Festival, created by Hijinx Theatre, is taking place between 21 – 30 June and will showcase and celebrate the best in inclusive, disability and learning-disability arts from Wales, the UK and around the world, promoting positive images of disability and social inclusion to audiences

Turning Points is a ten minute film being screened as part of the London 2012 Festival, the spectacular 12-week nationwide celebration running from 21 June until 9 September 2012 bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK.

Innovative Liverpool-based disability and deaf arts organisation Disability and Deaf Arts will now be known as DaDaFest – taking on the name of its best known event, the critically acclaimed international festival. In line with this name change, the entire DaDaFest brand has received an overhaul including a vibrant new image and website design.

Part of the Unlimited Cultural Olympiad programme and the London 2012 Festival, Tin Bath Theatre's 'Bee Detective' is an outdoor theatre show for deaf and hearing children. Created by Sophie Woolley, it will be touring parks and squares across the UK this summer.

DAO is delighted to announce a significant Grants for the Arts award by Arts Council England to commission eight disabled artists to work with organisations nationally to produce new works over the period of a year for online presentation.

Multimedia artist Mark Ware has been awarded Arts Council Grants for the Arts funding to develop and produce an exciting, innovative high quality multimedia digital art project in collaboration with Exeter Cathedral, to interpret 900 years of history, using digital and HD technology.

From Fri 13 July – Sun 2 September, the Bluecoat will be given over to this landmark exhibition, which will feature the work of over 30 internationally renowned artists including new commissions, each addressing a definitive question of our time: ‘what is normal and who decides?’ specifically focussing on language as freedom and language as imprisonment.

Arts Council England has announced that Embrace Arts (Richard Attenborough Centre at Leicester University) has been successful in the first stage of its new large-scale capital funding programme with a proposed award of £600,000.

Blue Eyed Soul Dance have announced that they are to close at the end of March 2012. The company grew from a residency with CandoCo Dance Company in 1994. From its base in rural Shropshire and with the support of Arts Council England it explored, developed and delivered a highly successful and extensive programme of inclusive dance, locally, nationally and internationally.

Folk in Motion, a unique new folk dance project for wheelchair users, has been granted the Inspire mark by the London 2012 Inspire programme. The London 2012 Inspire programme recognises innovative and exceptional projects that are directly inspired by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

A street in High Wycombe will be creatively transformed in March as part of a cultural programme celebrating London 2012. Conceptual disabled artist, Zoe Partington, has worked on developing a creative response to how disabled people navigate through urban spaces and the impact this has on them emotionally and physically.

Arts Council England and the BBC today announced the 53 successful applicants who will be creating hundreds of hours of original commissions for 'The Space' – an experimental digital arts media service and commissioning programme.

Critically-acclaimed dance theatre company Signdance Collective is to perform its show New Gold at Warehouse Theatre in London for two weeks in April, as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, a cultural celebration inspired by the Olympics and Paralympics.

Shape, in association with Westway Development Trust and our sponsors HSBC, would like to invite applications for the Shape Open Exhibition 2012 from artists who have work that comments or makes reference to issues surrounding disability.

Diversity should be about opening up and expanding our thinking, with everyone benefiting from different perspectives and alternative points of view. That’s why this week Sync - a leadership development programme funded by Arts Council England – is expanding its membership to everyone interested in leadership and diversity through a strand called InSync.

Hope Whitmore has recently received support from Graeae Theatre Company for the background research of a play she is writing called Off Key. She is hoping to hear from people with autism about difficult situations they have been in, and especially about the experience of ‘coming-out’ as autistic to those close to them.

The nationally respected development agency for disabled and Deaf artists, Dada-South, starts the new year proud to announce their change of name. From 1st February the organisation will be known as Ardent Hare.

The next stage of the London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay Torchbearer nomination process started this week. BT, one of the three Presenting Partners for the London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay, launched their public nomination campaign on 13 December 2012.

Creative excellence amongst disabled artists was honoured at the Ability Media International (AMI) awards on Sunday 20 November 2011, as stars of screen, stage, broadcast and new media joined to celebrate diversity and inclusion in the media and arts

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and partners, Shape, have won a top award with their ‘challenging’ exhibition of RCP portraits Re-framing disability: portraits from the Royal College of Physicians.

Leading arts organisation Heart n Soul launched its Paralympic Games website Games Through Our Eyes, created by its Media Team, on 23 September 2011 at its Squidz Club for young people with learning difficulties.

Bournemouth People First, a charity run for and by people with learning disabilities, were delighted to be awarded a grant of £49,700 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to support a new 18 month project called ‘Struggle for Equality’.

Liberty is a platform for amazing new work from deaf and disabled artists. Come and enjoy an afternoon of music and cabaret, outdoor arts and dance, and fun for children at the Southbank Centre and National Theatre.

Garry Robson Artistic Director DaDaFest International 2010 reflects on the impact of the work of award-winning visual artist/disabled artist Tanya Raabe as she launches a major touring show at Solihull Gallery.

A short piece of video art by Chris Tally Evans, depicting one year of life on a reach of the River Wye, is among the artwork to be exhibited at the Kennedy Center, Washington DC, USA this June for a prestigious VSA exhibition titled Shift.

Legendary punk rock combo Heavy Load released a new version of The Ting Ting’s No.1 hit ‘That’s Not My Name’ that coincided with Learning Disability week in June 2011.This release focused on the issue of Disability Hate Crime

Why did the chicken cross the road? Which came first the chicken or the egg? Mind the Gap’s talented cast of learning disabled professional performers hatched a plan to answer these and other less poultry questions in their new street theatre piece, ‘Chicken Coup!’ which toured festivals during the summer of 2011

Attitude is Everything is delighted to announce their third Club Attitude showcase at Glastonbury 2011 featuring beauteous acoustic bards, street folk poetics and punk rock legends inter-spiced with beats, bleeps and signed rap!

Having a first outing at the Soho Theatre, London, from 21-23 February, The Knitting Circle is an exciting new work in progress, reuniting director Paulette Randall and writer / producer Julie McNamara. Based on the testimonies of people who survived the asylums closed in the 1980s and 90s.

An exhibition by Blind with Camera is showing at the DaDa-Fest International, Liverpool until 3 December 2010. DAO talked to Partho Bhowmick who set up the project in Mumbai, India in 2006 after being inspired by Evgen Bavcar, an accomplished blind photographer based in Paris.

Wendy McGowan-Griffin interviews Matthew Miller, Co-Director of Fabrica Gallery about the curatorial decisions made during the installation of Martin Parr’s 'House of Vernacular,' which ran from 2 October to 28 November 2010 as part of the Brighton Photography Biennial.

Autumn 2010 see StopGAP Dance Company embarking on a tour of their latest double bill - 'Within' choreographed by Thomas Noone and 'Splinter' choreographed by Rob Tannion. Lucy Bennett provides a dancers' insight into this exciting development in StopGAPs work

Over the coming months DAO intends to report on a range of events taking place under the Accentuate banner. Accentuate is funded by Legacy Trust UK which is creating a cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, SEEDA and the regional cultural agencies. Screen South is the home of Accentuate.

South London arts organisation Heart n Soul celebrated recent MBE awards to director Mark Williams and founder artist Pino Frumiento in the Queen's New Years Honours on Wednesday 31 March. Heart n Soul Now toasted the royal recognition at the Albany arts venue in Deptford, where the organisation has been based for 24 years.

Colin Hambrook profiles an upcoming play inspired by the life and times of legendary disabled performer, Ian Dury. Written by award-winning playwright Garry Robson of Fittings Multimedia Arts, the play is due to tour the UK from the beginning of April 2010.

London 2012 and Arts Council England have announced that over £400,000 of funding has been awarded to 10 commissions for Unlimited, the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad project - the UK’s largest programme celebrating arts, culture and sport by disabled and deaf people.

Samuel Dore AKA Bursteardrum has been working as a film-maker, cameraman and editor since 2000. Colin Hambrook asked him a few questions in preparation for his talk and workshop as part of Shape's 'Animate' programme

CoolTan Arts, the London-based arts project working with mental health service users, launched three films at the British Film Institute on February 8, 2010. One film follows their pioneering Largactyl Shuffle late-night art and heritage walks round London.

Parliamentary Outreach have launched an innovative new initiative designed with mental health group, Rethink. Colin Hambrook reports on how the project is engaging with communities of disabled people, within the mental health arena, who have traditionally been disengaged from the democratic process.

Animate explores the rich history of Disability Arts through talks and workshops. Colin Hambrook asked visual artist Noemi Lakmaier about her plans for the second of these talks at Shape on 8 February 2010

Two Cultural Olympiad events, taking place during 2010, are aimed at opening up arts and culture to new audiences. Organisers want non-commercial organisations to get involved in developing and planning how these projects shape up.

Disability Arts Online has won its first national accolade. The site was highly commended at the Jodi Awards, announced December 2, 2009 at the Sackler Centre, V&A, in London. The national and international Jodi Awards celebrate the best use of digital technology in the service of access to culture for disabled people.

Oska Bright 2009 runs from Tuesday 17 to Thursday 19 November 2009 with different screenings each day. As well as daily screenings Oska Bright includes Master Classes, mentoring sessions, a fabulous awards ceremony and a closing party with live music. The festival kick off with an inspiring workshops for people with learning disabilities wanting to learn how to make films.

Liz Crow of Roaring Girl Productions tells us about the making of Resistance - a dual-screen moving image installation that will tour galleries and museums and is due to be launched on 17 November 2009 as major part of DaDaFest, Novas CUC Gallery, Liverpool.

This autumn Pallant House Gallery plays host to Jon Adams' retrospective 'The Goose on the Hill' from 13 October – 22 November 2009. The exhibition coincides with ‘Outside In’ - a major exhibition of Outsider Art.

The fourth decibel Performing Arts Showcase, takes place in Manchester from 15-18 September 2009. The showcase, run by Arts Council England offers promoters and national and international arts professionals a unique snapshot of England’s diverse performing arts talent.

'Outside In' is on show at Pallant House Gallery, 9 North Pallant, Chichester, West Sussex, 4 August – 8 November 2009. The exhibition provides a platform for artists who are marginalised due to health, disability or other social circumstances. Marc Steene, Head of Learning, explains some of the reasoning behind the competition, due to become a national event by 2011.

StopGAP are an internationally recognised Dance Company. Having comleted a whirlwind UK tour of their acclaimed Portfolio Collection they are now preparing for the Caravan International Event, which is taking place to coincide with The Brighton Festival.

Late at Tate - an artist intervention in Tate Britain’s Duveen Galleries - was recently curated by Vauxhall’s art laboratory, Beaconsfield. The concept behind the evening was the idea of creating a terminal space, with an array of arrival and departure points, in which only the surreal applied.

Artist challenges commuters at London Bridge station
Jon Adams has recently been appointed as Southern's Artist in Residence and over the next year Adams will be creating his art on the Southern network as part of the Alternative Platform project.